Ricardo Santiago, 60, of Hartford, was sentenced on Mar. 9 to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for fraudulently obtaining Social Security, unemployment, and food stamp benefits, according to United States Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut.
The case highlights the consequences of benefit fraud involving multiple federal and state programs over a period spanning more than two decades.
Court documents show that between 2002 and 2024, Santiago worked for more than 20 employers and earned over $580,000 while concealing his income from government agencies by using false identification and Social Security numbers belonging to others. In 2002, he applied for Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits by claiming he was unable to work due to disability. He continued receiving these payments after falsely asserting in paperwork that he remained disabled and had not worked in recent years. Santiago ultimately collected more than $316,000 in RSDI payments he was not entitled to receive.
In February 2017, Santiago applied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits with the Connecticut Department of Social Services by stating he had no employment income. He began receiving SNAP benefits in March 2017 and renewed them under the same false pretenses, making over $18,000 in purchases with those funds.
Santiago also applied for Unemployment Insurance benefits from the Connecticut Department of Labor in April 2020 using another individual’s Social Security number. He claimed he was unemployed but able to work and received more than $36,000 in payments through February 2021 based on these misrepresentations.
U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver ordered Santiago to pay $371,686 in restitution. Santiago was arrested on May 7, 2024; he pleaded guilty to wire fraud on February 24, 2025. While awaiting sentencing on bond in September 2025, Santiago staged his own and his daughter’s drowning in an attempt to flee but was located by Hartford Police later that month and has been detained since then.
The investigation involved several agencies including the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General; U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General; U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General; and U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan J. Guevremont.